Coal-chute



UN TED STATES PATENT OFFIC EUGENE F. LEWIS, or PREsro'ii, CONNECTICUT.

I I CO AL-C HUTE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent Iva-381,147, dated l i 17, 1888." I -Application filed December 12, 18877. Serial'No. 257;l2d. (No model.) l v To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EUGENE ,F. LEWIs, a citizenof the United States, residing at-Preston, in the county ,of New'London andState of Connecticut, have'madegcertain new and useful Improvements in'Ooal-Ohutes, which improvements arefullyiset forth and described in the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying sheet of drawings, in.

Figurel is a side elevation of my said chute, and Fig. 2 an under side plan of the'same. Fig. 3 is an outer end view of the pocket or reservoirat the lower end of the chute, and

illustrates the means employed to lock-the gate of said pocket. 1 This invention is in the class of chutes commonly used in transferring coal from vessels to cars, and has for its object to so improve such chutes that an increased quantity of coal may be handled in a given time, ,also that the said chute may be more readily and quickly adjusted to any desired length or inclination than heretofore;

desirable improvementsl have also kept in mind the elements of strength and cheapness of construction.

My said device is usually located between the railway and thevessel to be unloaded.

0 The coal is raised from the vessels hold in buckets, and is dumped into a hopper at the upper end of the chute, and thence passes by gravity downsaid chute into the car, which is located beneath the delivery end ofthe chute,

3 5 As soon as a caris loaded it is removed and an empty one takes its place beneath the chute.

Referring to the drawings, theletter d indi cates an upright or post, which, with a com- 0 panion post on the opposite side, supports my said chute. Secured to these uprights are journal-bearings b b, which receive trunnions c c, to which the chute proper is attached. Said chute is made in two principal sections,

5 of joists cl d, which alternate and 'interlap each other at their inner ends, as plainly indicated in Fig. 2. These joists are floored and sided with heavy sheetiron e e, and thelower chute-section is securely fixed to the trunnions 5c c a above referred to. I

Journaled in bearings secured to the under In seeking to attain these,

sideof the lower chute-section is a shaft, e, which carries a crank, j, and gears-g. fiaid gears inesh with racks h, secured one on each side of the upperlchute-section. 'With the 5 construction described it will be understood 1 that by rotating crank'f and its shaft ei'and gears gtheupper chute-section may be telescoped into'the lower section. This means of' shortening the chute allows the upper .end'to' 6ov be readily adjusted to vessels of greater or 3 lesserfbeama featurewhich is very desirable for thefollowi ng reason: In removing coal from vesselsof narrow) beam, if no adjustment of the chute is avail- 6 able, such vessels must befbreasted away i Y from the wharf a sufficient distanceto bring the hatch-opening in line With the upperend' of the chute, so tnat thebucket may-rise with in easy reach of the operator on said chute.

When breasted out by poles or spars, consider able'annoyance is frequently occasioned by rough Water or by passing steamers, whose swash rocks thevesseluijitilsuch spars become displaced. Work'must then besuspended-7' until she can again be breasted out and fastened. Y

The adjustment of the chute to different degrees of inclination is accomplished bymeansf of a rope, k, and pulley-blocks k k, as illus- 8o trated in Fig. 1. Pulley k is attached to the upper end of the chute, and the companion pulley k to the upright a. through said pulley-blocks, forming, preferv Hope it is rove ably, a double fall, by which the free end of 85,

the chute may be easily elevated or adjusted by a'single man. 'Ihe buckets of coal are receivedat the up-v per endof the chute byv an attendant, who stands on a platform, n, securedlto one sideof 01.

said chute, and who dumps the bucket-loadsin the upperend of the chute. The lower or v discharge section of the chute is'provided with I elevated sideboards 0, which have hinged to their lower ends a gate, q, whichmaybe locked '5 by a-bolt or latch, .9. (See Fig.3.) Said latch,

as here shown, consists of alever-arm'pivotedi to the outer'face of gate q andadaptedtolock v I under projecting lugs s 8, formed on the sides,

boards .0. The chamber thus provided form s an important feature of my invention, as it enables the process of unloading from 5. 3.3,. 1 "1 sel to proceed without interruption while the loaded cars are being removed and empty ones and hook the lower end of said chain over a spike or pin, a, in the discharge end of the chute. The links of the chain allow me any desired adjustment, and the chain thus attached forms a guy to limit the downward movement of said discharge end.

Thev operation of my complete device may be briefly described as follows: Crank f is turned to the right hand to project the upper chute-section outward over the vessel to be unloaded, and the complete chute is adjusted to the desired inclination. The coal is then dumped into the upper end, and immediately passes thence through the chute and into the car. This operation'is repeated until the car is filled, when the gate g is shut and locked. The coal now accumulates in the pocket formed by said gate and the side-boards 0 until an empty car is moved into position to load,when

the gate is released and the accumulated coal passes into said car. Gate q is left unlocked and the coal continues to pass through freely until it again becomes necessary to shift the cars. This action permits the continuous discharge of coal from the vessel into the chute, and increases materially the amount of work accomplished bya gang of men in a given time.

When not in use, the complete chute may be swung into approximately a vertical position between its uprights a by releasing chain t and swinging the upper end of the chute inward toward said uprights.

I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent- 1. In combination with uprights a, a twopart chute trunnioned in said uprights, one of said chute-sections being provided with racks and the companion section with engaging pin-' ions, shaft and crank, as described, for adjusting said chute longitudinally, and a system of pulleys and a rope forvarying the inclination of said complete chute, all being substantially as and for the objects set forth.

- 2. In combination with uprights a, a twopart chute trunnioned in said uprights, one of said chute-sections being provided with racks and the companion section with engaging-pinions, shaft and crank, as described, for adj usting said chute longitudinally, a system of pulleys and rope for varying the inclination of the complete chute, a pocket formed on the lower chute-section, a gate at the discharge end thereof, and a latch for locking said gate, all being substantially as and for the object specified.

3. Uprights a, a two-part telescopic chute trunnioned between said uprights, mechanism for adjusting and supporting said chute at dilferent degrees of inclination, a rack-andpinion mechanism, as described, for adjusting longitudinally one end of the chute, a. pocket at the lower end of said chute, a gate at the discharge end of said pocket, and a locking device for governing said gate, all of said elements being constructed and combined as herein described, and for the objects specified.

EUGENE F. LEWIS.

Witnesses:

FRANK H. ALLEN, ALLEN TENNY. 

